<p>40 percent academic
10 percent CFA</p>
<p>Can someone break the rest of it down for me please. And if possible, break down the academic percentages with SAT/GPA/Class Rank. Thanks.</p>
<p>Mister Sinister, You cannot figure this out! while I am sure that there is a formula that is used, it is just a guideline. in the end, it is a group of admissions personel who sit down at a table and try to determine, out of the thousands of applications who they "think" will be most succesful at thier institution. Get your application filled out, get your nomination applications filled out, stay in touch with admissions, have a plan A, B, and C. and hope for the best. There are hundreds of applicants each year who are not offered appointments who are every bit, if not more qualified than some who are offered appointments.</p>
<p>I remember them telling us about a formula over at SLS. I am just curious. I know they don't follow it precisely, but I just want to write the numbers down for ... purposes...</p>
<p>Here is my understanding of the components of the Whole Candidate Score and its weighting factors. However, as pointed out, the WCS is only part of the information used by admissions. There are other standards used for recruited athletics and targeted group candidates:</p>
<p>Academic (60%)
Class Rank (15)
SAT Score (35)
High School Grades (10)
Extra points for valedictorian/salutatorians/national merit scholar/national honor society, </p>
<p>Leadership (30%)
School leadership – extra points for class or student body president
Athletic Participation – Team captain status important
Team sports valued higher than individual sports
Faculty evaluations
Extra Curricular Activities - eagle scouts, newspaper/yearbook editor, debate</p>
<p>Fitness (10%) - Candidate Fitness Analysis</p>
<p>Keep in mind that the 1300 or so spots are allocated roughly ( the total adds up to more than 1300 since not all categories are filled to capacity each year):</p>
<pre><code>541 to congressional districts/senate
100 Presidential (sons/daughters of career military)
85 enlisted, regular army
85 enlisted, reserve army
20 ROTC
65 Son/daughter of disabled veterans
150 Based on order of merit (Whole Candidate Score)
300 Remaining spots at USMA discretion (athletes, target groups)
</code></pre>
<p>I was talking to Dr. Osanka who sits on the board for my local congressman. He talked about the academy boards using stamps and looking at files for about 5 minutes and then stamping it with green or red ink. Just what I was told. Aspen-thank you for the description of the process, It helps to see it broke down into parts.</p>
<p>Wow. This is better than I expected. Thank you Aspen for taking the time to do this. I didn't realize academic covered nearly 60 percent. That is a lot! I thought they said it was 40, but I guess I'm wrong. In order to get a perfect 35 percent on the SAT section, do you have to have a 1600 verbal and math? Or did they make perhaps...make 1400 the maximum number of points in that category?</p>
<p>Also, how bad is it to not have a school varsity sport, and instead have varsity equivalents outside of school? Such as an All Star League under the Department of Defense. Would it still be okay to check the varsity box?</p>
<p>I have over 4 years of baseball, 4 years of basketball, 2 years of cross country, black belt Taekwondo, black belt in Hapkido, and 3 years of Swimming. 5 of these sports I have been on an All Star Team within the Armed Forces Community. These teams represent the bases/branch of service that they live under, and are just as intense as a school varsity team. I was also captain for nearly half of the sports that I have done, but on the USMA application they ask if you are a "varsity captain". Should I just check the boxes? I want the credit that I deserve,.. by looking in that gray area, instead of seeing things in just black and white. </p>
<p>the 30 percent leadership bracket is very amusing to me because someone can have a ton of leadership positions, but also have no sports. I'm a regimental commander in JROTC, and an Eagle Scout... all of which are great leadership positions, but surely these alone wouldn't account for much. Are sports and Extracurriculars divided... lets say.. 15/15 percent?</p>
<p>Mister Sinister - it is quite simple, you should only check the varsity sport box if you have played a varsity sport. It is not for you to decide that your sport is a vasity sport equivalent; admissions will do that for you and award points accordingly if it applies.</p>
<p>
[quote]
the 30 percent leadership bracket is very amusing to me because someone can have a ton of leadership positions, but also have no sports.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I am not sure what you mean by this -- Athletics is very important not only for admissions but while a cadet.
ALL cadets participate in sports at West Point. If you aren't on a Varsity Team then you will be on either a Club team or participate in Intramurals.
During the admissions process - USMA needs to know that you are ready, able and willing to participate in team sports.</p>
<p>Listen to Ann - list your athletics that aren't varsity seperatly - admissions will look at this. All my daughter's leadership was outside school (except for athletics), it was listed seperately and counted for a lot.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I'm a regimental commander in JROTC, and an Eagle Scout... all of which are great leadership positions, but surely these alone wouldn't account for much.
[/quote]
<br>
they count for alot.</p>
<p>I am pretty sure with academics they also look at the strength of your schdedule. USMA definitely wants to see classes that are honors or AP, especially in science and math.</p>
<p>Ann, I also agree, but I'm just afraid that they won't really look at the supplemental forms on the Department of Defense Sports that I did.</p>
<p>They will look at everything - honestly.<br>
Can you swing a visit to USMA?? If you go for a candidate visit then you will have the opportunity to sit with an Admissions Officer who will review your entire package in front of you.</p>
<p>Mister Sinister - my son played no varsity sport. TaeKwonDo was his only sport. He competed Nationally was was given credit for it. If you indicate that you played a varsity sport when you did not, you will have some explaining to do....not a good way to start off your application. WP will give you credit where it is due.</p>
<p>The WCS breakdown that I have is slightly different from Aspens. This is what was presented at our All Academy information session in February:<br>
Academics 60%: 23% class rank, 18% English SAT/ACT, 19% Math SAT/ACT (with course difficulty being factored in)
Leadership 30%: teachers evals and interview 10%, extracurricular activities 10%, athletics10% (leadership positions factored in)
CFA 10%</p>
<p>in the end, it is a group of admissions personnel who sit down at a table and try to determine, out of the thousands of applications who they "think" will be most successful at their institution.</p>
<p>No, they actually have well thought out criteria that they are looking for, and base their decisions on risk analysis. They have statistics that tell them from past experience what the risk cutoffs are, and what the predictors of success are. Are they right all the time? No but it is a far more complex process than the writer above suggests. The nomination and diversity requirement s add another layer of complexity to the process . </p>
<p>He talked about the academy boards using stamps and looking at files for about 5 minutes and then stamping it with green or red ink.</p>
<p>Remember, each file is read by an admissions officer before it even gets to the Admissions Board. In addition each candidate will usually have had a MALO or MAAR go over his/her file and had a one on one interview (with a written interview report). To add another layer, the nomination staff will have also evaluated the candidate. Compared to most institutions Academy applicants have had their files thoroughly analyzed.</p>
<p>I'm not saying that the process is flawed or wrong but I stand by my statement. There is no way that a candidate can be fully evaluated based on one application, (with all that goes with it) and I believe that there are those who are not offered appointments who are more qualified than some who are. I'm not saying this with any anomosity, it is just the way it is. It is a system that has worked for many years and will continue to work in the future. All I am trying to say is that applicants should not waste time and energy trying to figure out the numbers and thier chances. They should just apply and do everything in thier power to ensure that thier chances are all that they can be and make sure that there are solid back up plans in place. In the end they will offered an appointment or they won't.</p>
<p>"I believe that there are those who are not offered appointments who are more qualified than some who are. "
Yes, this is true - because of the way the nomination process works it often depends on how competitive the candidate's nomination district is. In addition, diversity requirements can have an effect. WP does make sure that all candidates meet minimum requirements ie are triple qualified.</p>
<p>"I believe that there are those who are not offered appointments who are more qualified than some who are. "</p>
<p>Guess what, thats life. You can say the same about any job, college, or elected/appointed position in public or private life. With West Point and the other service academies, its not just about getting in, one then has to be able to stay in---in a way THAT is the final selection process.</p>
<p>I agree shogun, as I said before, I did not make that statement with any animosity. I made it as a statement of fact and to make the point that a candidate can meet all addmission requirements and still not be offered an appointment. The nature of the academies is that everyone who makes it past the nomination process is the cream of the crop. Mister Sinister is trying to crunch the numbers, so to speak, to try and figure out weather he has a chance at an appointment. Again my point is "just apply" and do everything in your power to ensure that no stone was left unturned in the application process.</p>
<p>I got a Presidential Nomination, but that 200 quota was something I didn't know about until recently. I'm fairly confident in most areas, except my SAT scores. I'm in the top 5 percent of my class in a fairly competitive DoDDs school overseas (Seoul... and you know how those Koreans are with academics) but nonetheless, my scores suck! Too bad, usma makes the test score portion larger than the class rank bracket. Are test scores really a good indicator of one's success at usma, and do they value these in that great of a manner? I will be taking it a second time this saturday, and I'm hoping for the best. Lol, if I don't get an appointment, I'm just going to enlist in the French Foreign Legion.</p>
<p>"I'm just going to enlist in the French Foreign Legion."
LOL - good luck with that - you are a brave soul....:)</p>
<p>"Are test scores really a good indicator of one's success at usma"
On their own no - but taken in combination with class rank , course difficulty and teacher evaluations, yes they are the best predictor of academic success.<br>
The admissions process is a rollercoaster ride, and the waiting is the hardest part - hang in there.</p>
<p>Ann, do you know anything about interviews for usma? I know they aren't required, but I heard it is also an important admissions factor. Does SLS count? We were interviewed by our Squad Leader, but I'm not sure if that counts.</p>